Folding bed for trailers



1952 H. c. BRUMBAUGH 2,581,576

FOLDING BED FOR TRAILERS Filed Jan. 8, 1947 5 Sheets-Sheet l 3s ifi x,lz9 1 j l/ M 13 3645 2 35 A I I2 4o 15 H r". E 21 I0 IN V EN TOR.

HAROLD C BRUMBAUGH BY 4 MM Jan. 8, 1952 c; BRUMBAUGH 2,581,576

FOLDING BED FOR TRAILERS Filed Jan. 8, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.HAROLD C BRUMBAUGH Jan. 8, 1952 H, c B BAUGH 2,581,576

FOLDING BED FOR TRAILERS Filed Jan. 8, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 PatentedJan. 8, 1952 FOLDING BED FOR TRAILERS Harold C. Brumbaugh, Portland,Oreg., assignor of one-third to Max E. Krueger and one-third to HerbertHeltzel, both of Portland, Oreg,

Application January 8, 1947, Serial No. 720,731

. 4 Claims.

My present invention relates to the provision of folding beds for humanuse in structures having but very little space therein, the inventionbeing of particular utility in a folding trailer or the like.

I have illustrated the invention, and it is of particular utility, inconnection with a folding trailer of the general type disclosed andclaimed in co-pending application Serial No. 662,284, filed April 15,1946, which became Patent No. 2,483,332 on September 27, 1949, but it isto be appreciated that the invention may be utilized in any dwellingstructure such as a non-collapsible house trailer, a cabin or other typeof house, a motorboat, a sailboat, or other structures in which per"-sons may desire to sleep.

An object of the present invention is to provide a folding bed soconstructed and arranged that itmay be collapsed upon itself and stowedaway in a very small space, for example, beneath a work table or otherstructure such as a seat or the like so that the dwelling or the likemay be utilized for normal daytime purposes and be converted intosleeping quarters during the night.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a folding bedwhich is hingedly supported in its location of use in such manner thatthe support thereof may comprise a work table or the like, which whenlifted to a position of nonuse aids in lifting the bed to its positionof use.

A further object of my present invention is to provide a lower bed incombination with an upper bed, the two beds forming a double-tier bunkarrangement, both beds being collapsible upon themselves and stowablewithin a small space such as beneath a work table, bench or th like.

A further object of my present invention is to provide a double-tier bedarrangement wherein the lower bed is foldable to a position of nonuseout of the way of the space traversed by the upper bed when it is beingraised to a position of use.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the present inventionwill be more readily apparent from an inspection of the followingspecification taken in connection with the accompanying drawings whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is a vertical section through one end of acollapsible trailer such as disclosed in my co-pending applicationSerial No. 662,284, filed April 15, 1946, supra, having the presentinvention therein illustrated in its position of use;

Fig. 2 is a similar vertical section through the structure of myco-pending application, wherein the trailer is collapsed upon itself soas to present a small, compact structure capable of traveling at highspeeds behind a towing vehicle, in which the present invention isillustrated in its stowed position;

Fig. 3 is a view in perspective showing the present invention with bothbeds in full line in their position of use, and the upper bed in dashlines in its stowed position;

Fig. 4 is a side elevational view of the present invention showing theupper bed in full outline in its stowed position and in dash lines in anintermediate position as well as in its position of use; i

Fig. 5 is an end elevation taken from the right end of Fig. 4illustrating the upper and lower beds in their stowed position in fulloutline and the upper and lower beds in their position of use in dashlines; and

Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail view taken substantially from the line 6-45of Fig. 3.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 there is illustrated a collapsible trailercomprising a lower portion In, an upper or roof portion H, folding sidewalls l2 and a hinged end wall 13' adapted to be raised by mechanism 14.When the end walls and roof H are in raised position the side walls 12will 00-- cupy vertical planes, and when the'roof and walls are loweredthe side walls 12 will collapse upon themselves as seen in Fig. 2. Themechanism M for raising and lowering the roof and walls of the traileris incompletely illustrated herein as being unimportant to the presentinvention and details thereof may be ascertained from my copendingapplication, identified above. It is to be appreciated that thestructure could comprise a house trailer having its roof and wallspermanently fixed in position, or that the structure could be any otherform of dwelling, or a boat or the like.

Mounted against one wall of the trailer there is illustrated a worktable comprising a table top l5 having a depending flange [6, the topbeing hinged to the side of the trailer at ll. As seen in Fig. 3 the top15 may comprise the major portion of a work table including an end shelfl8, an opposed endshelf I9 having a sink or washbasin 26 therein, and afront wall 2| terminating in a stiffening rod 22 at its upper edge, allof these portions being permanently fixed in position. A hinge bar 25 ishinged to an intermediate portion of the lower surface of the top It,there being one such bar at each end thereof, the lower ends thereofbeing attached to a U-shaped section of tubing 26, which is hingedlyattached to the wall,

ably longer than the arms of the section 26 so that the section 28 maybe folded against thewall, as seen in dash lines in'Fig. ,5;1391;11QQ9VQ' the lower bed from a vertical plane above the position inwhich an upper bedgis: stowed. The lower bed is adapted to be raisedfrom-its positionof non-use illustrated in full line in Figs. 2and 5 toa position of use as illustrated 11 11: line in Fig. 1 and in dash linein Fig. 5 wherein the.

bed frame occupies a substantially horizontal plane spaced above thefloor of the structure in which it is located. The lower bed is=adaptedto;

be raised to its position of useby swinging the top l5 about its hinge:I l and latching the top to the wall 12 as'bymeans-of hooks-fil'attachedto the wall 12 and adapted to enga-geey'esBZ on thefront surface of theportion l t, the hinge arms thereby raising the armsof the section- 25to occupy ahorizonta-I plane. The-portion =28 may thereupon be leanedback toward the wall or may be left to occupy ahor-izontal plane, thejoint thereof to the section 26- comprising any usual means forpreventing breakage-of the joint. Thelo-wer bed therefore may occupy astowed position beneath the table top, a raised horizontal'position ofuse, or a posi-tion in which the majorportion thereof is folded beyondthe horizontal.

back against the wall ofthe trailer.

7 An upper bed 'is adapted-tobe placed in stowed position as seen inFig. 2 or its raised position of use as: seen in Fig; 1. Theupper-'bedcomprises a frame including a U-shapedtube-SE forming one side andportions'of: the ends, anoppositely facing U.-shape'd.tube 36 forming.thEOlJhBl sideand portions of the ends, and intermediate end sections 38to which the extremities-of tubes and 36 are pivotally'attached. Theend'sections 38: comprise U -shaped members which are braced by crossbars 37 providing convenientiprojeotions to support the pivot pinsforthe side members:

35 and 36.

The lower ends of the U -s-haped member 38st the rightend of theconstruction-are pivotallyattached to a horizontally disposed hingetube4% forming an end of a standard comprising spaced bars Al and. 42', theopposite ends of which comprise portions of ahorizontally;disposed'hinge es mounted on a horizontal strut Msuitablyfastoned beneath the fixed shelf l8;

strut 44 so that the hinge tube 30 lies closely adjacent the floor 45.of the trailer or other structure. The bars 4! and .52 are bent at point45:50 that-thetube 48 is offset slightlyfrom the hinge 4.3; therebypermitting the cross members 13llto-occupy-the position illustrated inFig. 4.. In order :toraise this end of the: upper; bedafterthe lowerbedi has been folded back; against the raised table: top the bars .tl'and 42 are swung-upward around the hinge 43'.

The opposite end-of the upper bed is mounted upon an. articulatedstandard includinga: pairof lower bars 50 pivotallyattached'at 5i--to-the floor- 45. The upper endsthereof form portions: of a hinge 52,from 'which'extend alpal-r -ofupper-bars 53. the-.oppQ'site. ends. ofwhich are pivotal1y ate-- When the standard is in stoweolposition itdepends from thetached at 54 to an intermediate portion of the legs ofthe U-shaped member 38 forming a portion of the left end of the upperbed frame.

In order to raise the upper bed from its stowed position the left endthereof may be raised vertically and outwardly to a position above thefixed table top portion IS, the hinge tube 40 of the opposite endfollowing as necessary to permit such movement. The bars 50 and 53' passbeyond a vertical plane until bars 53 abut against the edge of the topportion is. The right-hand standard may thereupon be raised to asubstantially vertical pq ition, thus bringing the left-hand end of the'bed' to a substantially vertical point above'its position. of stowing.

When the standards have thus been raised to theposition of use thesections 35 and 36 may be dropped to occupy a horizontal plane alongwith the cross bars 3'3. The frame may comprise means to prevent passageof the sections 35 and 3B beyond a horizontal-plane buttliisiSprefBra-loly assured by chains 55 and 56' extending from the topsof the U-shaped members 38 to the outer.-

corners of the upper bed frame. A body supporting means such as a wireor fabric-meshifill is:

spread upon the frame of the upper bed to provide means to support amattress or the like. When the section 35 is'in its horizontal positionvthe upper bed may be braced against sideward movement by attaching thelongitudinal portion thereof to the wall i2'as by means illustrated-intube.

adapted. to slip over the vertically disposed? tip ofthe leg '62 toclamp theleg 62 against theme-11.. There are-preferablytwolsuchretaining means-at.

spaced points along the wall.

It will be noted, particularly from inspection-of Fig. .athatthe extremeendsofthe bars Aland; 42 pass beyond the verticarv plane through the,hinge .4 3:vvhen the upper bedisra-ised, thus:.pro;--

viding an over-center joint adapted to prevent the right: standard fromcollapsingwhen.weight is placed: thereon. Also theh-ing-e 52. at.llheklffil. end of. the: upper bed passes beyond: a. venticala.

- planethrough the lower.- liinge Eli's to provide an.

over-center, means to prevent: collapse .01": the left.

standard.

When the frame of the upper bedi-is folded;

upon itself in stowing position. as seen in: Figs.

2, 3' and 5 there is provided a U-shaped trough within which a mattressand other bedding ma be placed. When thelower bed is-instowed positionthe section 28 thereof is adapted to-occupy I5;for-the stowage ofmattresses and-other bed ding.

Itwill be seen that I have prov-ideda' double bed eonstruction adaptedto occupy a very "small space and retain thereinthe stowed mattresses"and bedding, and which'maybe used either singlyby raising only thelower-bed orby-raisihg the upper bed and foldingthelower-bed-backagainst the wall, or both of whieh may-beused-at he same time. The upperbedmay: be left in it s' position of use and"thelowerbed'restored"to-its stowed position by loweringthe table top lt after the upper 'bedhasbeen-raised; the table top-it forthis purpose beign .lpr ov-ided withanotch at one edge through which the bars 4! and 42 may pass and a notch66 at its opposite edge through which the bars 50 may pass.

Having illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of my presentinvention itshould be appreciated that modifications in detail andarrangement thereof may be readily achieved. All such modifications ascome within the true spirit and scope of the appended claims areconsidered to be a part of my invention.

I claim:

1. A folding bed comprising a frame, a standard hingedly attached to oneend of said frame, means hingedly supporting said standard at a pointintermediate the plane occupied by the bed when in use and the floor ofthe structure in which it is located, an articulated standard hingedlyattached at one end to the opposite end of said frame and to the floorof the structure at its other end, said articulated standard beingcapable of folding in either direction from its extended position, andmeans supported by said structure to prevent said articulated standardfrom folding more than a limited amount in one direction when the bed isin its position of use.

2. In a structure such as a trailer or the like, an upper folding bedcomprising a frame, bodysupporting means carried by said frame, astandard hingedly attached to one end of said frame, means hingedlysupporting said standard at a point intermediate the plane occupied bythe bed when in use and the floor of the structure, and an articulatedstandard hingedly attached at one end to the opposite end of said frame,and to the floor of the structure at its other end; in combination witha lower folding bed hingedly supported along one side within thestructure to occupy a horizontal position below said upper bed when inits position of use, and movable to a position of non-use ofiset fromthe vertical plane of said standards, said lower bed extending betweensaid standards when both beds are in their positions of use to preventinward collapsing movement of said standards.

3. In a structure such as a trailer or the like an upper folding bedcomprising a frame, a standard hingedly attached to one end of saidframe, means hingedly supporting said standard at a point intermediatethe plane occupied by the bed when in use and the floor of thestructure, and an articulated standard hingedly attached at one end tothe opposite end of said frame, and to the floor of the structure at itsother end; in combination with a lower folding bed hingedly sup- 7ported along one side within the structure to occupy a position betweensaid standards and below said upper bed when in use, and movable to aposition of non-use over said upper bed when said upper bed andstandards are folded into stowing relation.

4. In a structure such as a trailer or the like having a floor and anadjoining wall, an upper bed frame and a lower bed frame mounted in thespace adjacent the junction between said floor and said wall so as to bein superimposed relation when in position for use, a pair of endstandards pivotally connected to the ends of said upper bed frame andsupporting said upper bed frame at a level above said lower bed framewhen said standards are upright, said standards being articulated so asto be collapsible inwardly to permit lowering of said upper bed frame toa stowed position beneath said lower bed frame, and means connecting oneside of said lower bed frame to said wall, and pivot means; connectingthe ends and opposite side of said lower bed frame to said one sidehereby the major part of said lower bed frame may be swung to one sideto permit raising or lowering of said upper bed frame, said lower bedframe when in its position of use after raising said upper bed frame hasbeen accomplished extending between and preventing collapse of saidstandards.

HAROLD C. BRUMBAUGH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

